Biomimetic Chemistry in Oriented Systems

AbstractBiomimetic chemistry is the field which attempts to imitate the accelerations and selectivities characteristic of enzyme‐catalyzed reactions. Enzyme chemistry is not slavishly mimicked in detail, but instead furnishes an intellectual stimulus to the design of novel catalysts and reagents. Work in this field at Columbia University is reviewed in the area of selective steroid transformations, reactions of flexible chains (in solution, micelle, and bilayer), and cyclodextrin lock and key chemistry inspired by chymotrypsin and by ribonuclease. Careful attention to geometrical factors leads to good mimics of the rates and selectivities of some enzymes.